By R.L. Bynum
Regardless of the opponent, playing on the road in ACC women’s basketball is always challenging, particularly on senior night.
Senior guard JoJo Lacey scored a career-high 23 points as Boston College scored a season-high 10 3-pointers to snap a 10-game losing streak by holding off a furious North Carolina rally.
The Tar Heels (18–11, 10–7 ACC) stormed back from an 18-point deficit with 5:24 left but fell short in Boston College’s 78–74 victory on Thursday night at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
BC (12–18, 4–13) made five free throws in the last 28 seconds to put away the victory. Teonni Key’s layup with 17 seconds left cut it to four. Indya Nivar’s steal and free throw with 12 seconds left trimmed it to three, but that was as close as Carolina could get.
“I thought we just didn’t play with great urgency and shift with the game. They shot better than they usually shoot; we shot more poorly than we usually shoot,” said UNC coach Courtney Banghart, whose team was 5 of 26 from 3-point range. “We didn’t respond well to that. The 50/50 balls and offensive rebounds, and just things that require inside-the-lines adjustments while the fluid game was happening — we just didn’t respond well to that.”
Carolina’s 19.2% 3-point shooting was its worst since shooting 19% (4 of 21) in the 65–48 Nov. 30 loss to No. 1 South Carolina. The Heels likely could have pulled off the comeback if not for making only 1 of 10 attempts outside the arc in the final quarter.
In her return to Boston College, where she played her first two college seasons, junior center Maria Gakdeng led UNC with 16 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season but was a team-low -18. While she was 7 of 10 from the floor, the rest of the team combined to go 19 of 63.
Nivar (top photo) came off the bench to collect 16 points and nine rebounds and was a team-high +11. Lexi Donarski scored six of her 12 points at the free-throw line, where UNC was 17 of 21, the fifth-best percentage this season at 81%.
It was a struggle for UNC’s best two players as Deja Kelly went 2 of 17 from the floor for 9 points, her worst shooting game since going 1 of 13 on Feb. 27, 2022, in a win over Duke. Alyssa Ustby fouled out for the second straight game, finishing with four points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Kelly, who played the last 5:24 with four fouls, took an elbow to her face from Boston College’s Kaylah Ivey early in the second half. Kelly became the 11th player in program history to eclipse 1,800 points, and is tied for 10th with 1,805.
“On the offensive end, we were really careless with our shooting, and we didn’t knock down shots. And it’s hard to win if you’re going to shoot 19% from 3,” Banghart said.
Freshman guard Sydney Barker, who had two points on the season before Thursday, scored five points during that big fourth-quarter run, and got a bloody nose with 29 seconds left after getting hit by a shoe.
Barker, who joined the program as a walk-on but earned a scholarship in early February, played a season-high of nearly nine minutes, including seven in the fourth quarter when Ustby fouled out with 5:37 left in the game.
“Whenever my name was called, I just had to be ready,” said Barker, who scored her first college 3-pointer. “I just tried to go in and play as hard as I could. Just trying to bring that urgency and go out there and just do what we know how to do. I think we played with a little better energy and got some baskets and were a little bit better on the defensive end.”
UNC nearly overcame their second-largest deficit of the season. The only bigger deficit was 21 points in the 70–62 loss at Florida State on Jan. 21.
“We were creating turnovers, playing with a whole lot of urgency,” Banghart said of what her team did during the fourth-quarter run. “Getting in the pockets offensively and getting into the gaps with the dribble. It’s something that we need to be able to replicate.”
Maybe UNC just can’t play well in arenas where hockey is played, as the Tar Heels had their worst showing until the last 5½ minutes since losing two of three games in late November at the Gulf Coast Showcase in a minor-league hockey arena. Carolina’s two worst 3-point shooting games of the season were at that tournament (10% vs. Kansas State and 12.5% against Vermont.)
“This particular version of our team is still working through what they do when adversity hits inside the lines,” Banghart said. “We had some guys that that were a little careless with possessions. We forced some shots. We got a little shot-hesitant.”
Although the depth for Carolina is depleted, the Eagles only played six players. Ivey played all 40 minutes, dishing out eight assists, and T’yana Todd played 38.
Banghart called a timeout after a Todd jumper with 6:15 left in the first quarter gave Boston College a 13–4 lead. Donarski’s second 3-pointer of the opening quarter with 2:44 left cut the Eagles’ lead to five, but BC led 19–12 after one quarter.
“In the first half of the game, we were just responsive,” Banghart said. “I don’t think we were active enough. And, as a result, they got comfortable and played well.”
Three-pointers from Ustby (at the end of the shot clock) and Kelly paced an 8–3 run in the first 2½ minutes of the second quarter to cut the deficit to two. After BC pushed the lead back to seven, UNC sliced it back to two on Ali Zelaya’s hook shot and Key’s layup with 3:12 left.
After five consecutive Gakdeng free throws cut it to three, a Todd 3-pointer gave BC a 35–29 halftime lead.
Banghart called a timeout after Boston College scored the first four second-half points to take a 10-point lead. It wasn’t until a pair of Nivar layups that UNC cut the lead to six with 2:47 left in the third quarter.
BC expanded the lead to 13 on a 7–0 lead on a Lacey 3-pointer and layup and took a 55–44 lead into the fourth quarter. Boston College scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to open up an 18-point lead.
Lacey fouled out after getting a technical foul for taunting Donarski following a 3-pointer, then quickly picked up her fifth foul with 2:54 left.
NOTES — UNC finishes the regular season with a senior day home game Sunday at 4 p.m. against Duke (19–9, 11–6), which beat Virginia 73–54 at home on Thursday. … UNC appears to be locked into the No. 8 seed for the ACC tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum, which would mean a 1:30 second-round game on Thursday against No. 9-seed Miami (which Carolina beat 66–61 in their only meeting on Jan. 25 in Chapel Hill). With a win, the Tar Heels would face Virginia Tech (which beat UNC 70–61 in overtime in Chapel Hill on Feb. 4 and 74–62 in Blacksburg on Feb. 25) in a quarterfinal game at 1:30 Friday. … Out again Thursday with lower-body injuries were sophomore guard Paulina Paris (11th consecutive game) and freshman guard Reniya Kelly (fifth straight game). Paris was at the game but not in uniform. … Boston College snapped a two-game losing streak against UNC, which still leads the all-time series 16–5. … It was the Eagles’ first win since beating Wake Forest at home 68–65 on Jan. 18, but they only lost to Louisville 69–67 on Feb. 15.
BC 78, UNC 74
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Virginia Tech | 14–4 | 23–6 |
| No. 10 N.C. State | 13–5 | 25–5 |
| No. 20 Syracuse | 13–5 | 23–6 |
| No. 14 Notre Dame | 13–5 | 23–6 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 12–6 | 23–8 |
| Florida State | 12–6 | 21–9 |
| Duke | 11–7 | 19–10 |
| North Carolina | 11–7 | 19–11 |
| Miami | 8–10 | 18–11 |
| Georgia Tech | 7–11 | 16–14 |
| Virginia | 7–11 | 15–14 |
| Boston College | 5–13 | 13–18 |
| Clemson | 5–13 | 12–18 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–16 | 8–23 |
| Wake Forest | 2–16 | 6–24 |
Sunday’s games
North Carolina 63, Duke 59
Boston College 84, Pittsburgh 58
No. 10 N.C. State 75, Wake Forest 57
No. 14 Notre Dame 74, No. 24 Louisville 58
Georgia Tech 71, Miami 66, OT
Florida State 82, Clemson 79
Virginia 80, No. 11 Virginia Tech 75
ACC tournament
Greensboro Coliseum
Wednesday-Sunday
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
Photos courtesy BC Athletics/Meg Kelly
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